I’m doing today’s blog tour post a little different, because reviews are so last year, am I right? Lists are where it’s at!

I thought this would be a more fun way to introduce y’all to this book, by simply giving you reasons to read it. Straight to the point. Besides, who doesn’t love lists? That’s unheard of. I’m pretty sure that’s not really a thing.

Catalyst (The Catalysts, #2)

Marcie is spending her summer working on the archeological dig that her mother runs: Angel Mounds, a site of an ancient indigenous civilization. Soon after she arrives, she meet some intriguing individuals, and becomes wrapped up in a supernaturally-charged mission to save the planet from the destruction man has brought upon itself.

Marcie Horton has a sixth sense. Not in the "I see dead people" way, but . . . well, maybe a little. She feels a sort of knowing about certain things that can't be explained-an intuition that goes beyond the normal. Then there was that one summer four years ago, when she connected with a long-departed spirit . . . But nothing that incredible has happened to Marcie since. This summer, Marcie is spending time working at Angel Mounds, the archeological dig her mother heads, along with her brother, Eric, and his girlfriend, Renee. The dig is the site of an ancient indigenous civilization, and things immediately shift into the paranormal when Marcie and her teammates meet Lorraine and Zeke. The two mysterious dig assistants reveal their abilities to access the Universal Energy Field with their minds-something Marcie knows only vaguely that her brother has also had experience with. Marcie learns how our planet will disintegrate if action is not taken, and she and her team must decide if they are brave enough to help Lorraine and Zeke in their plan to save Mother Earth, her resources, and her history. It looks like the summer just got a lot more interesting.

Many thanks to TheWriteReads and Brown Books Publishing Group for a review copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and for including me on this tour. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.

All sorts of archaeological goodness.

Fun fact: from the ages of 3 to 14, I wanted to be a paleontologist. Until, you know, I realized that actually involved, like, being out in nature and getting dirty, and ugh, who wants to spend their adult life doing that? *shudders* Suffice it to say, though, if it mentions archaeology or paleontology, I’m there!

Catalyst is set during an archaeological dig of a Native American site, and I learned some fun facts about archaeology that I didn’t know!

Mostly that I clearly made the right career choice, because yikes. It’s dirty and a bit tedious, but it was super fun to read about, either way. I think I’ll stick to experiencing my digs through fiction for now, though.

The protagonist unwakes some pretty neat powers.

Not the superhero type, but … hey, it’s pretty close. The setting is meant to be realistic, so I don’t think superhero type powers, as fun as they are, would work. Instead, Macie starts with some visions about the people who used to inhabit the site they’re digging at, and that’s pretty freaking cool. Forget superpowers. This is the power I want! It doesn’t stop there, though.

I can’t say much about it at all, but this book is filled with some really fun abilities that the characters unlock over time.

They have to really be discovered as you go and as the characters grow, so that’s all I’ll say about that.

You’ll learn a lot about fracking and the dangers of it.

I’m already pretty well caught up on the debate about fracking … for reasons I actually don’t understand? How did I learn all this? It’s a mystery, because I for sure didn’t go out and read articles about fracking, and yet, the knowledge is there. *shrugs* I’m gonna go with aliens.

If you’re newer to the debate, though, Richardson breaks it down into pretty digestible chunks, and you’ll probably walk away learning a thing or two about it. Not just about fracking itself, but Richardson ties it to a more personal, human account in how it’s affecting the lives of the characters.

There’s a strong “save the planet from humans” vibe going on.

If you’re an environmentalist, this would be a really good book for you. It’s definitely an issues book, which I didn’t realize going in (I’m definitely not the audience for that). It’s a trope I can sympathize with, though. I, too, think humans are awful, which is why I tend to avoid most of them at all costs.

The stakes are pretty big, though. You know, save the world, doom and gloom type big. As I said, it’d be a great book for young environmentalists and activists just being introduced to the issues.

There’s a clean romance in this.

I’m sure it comes as no surprise at all that this really wasn’t my thing. Clean romance? Pffft. If someone doesn’t bleed, do they really even love each other? But if clean romance is your thing, you’d probably enjoy this aspect of it! It’s kind of refreshing to read a YA book that doesn’t have sex in it, and I know that there are readers looking for clean romances, so here you go!

You’ll learn a lot about energies and the Universal Energy Field.

Talk of energies, I’m aware of, at least, but I hadn’t heard of the Universal Energy Field before, so that was a new one for me. If you’ve ever been curious about either, though, this book does a good job of introducing them, and in ways that it’s easy for a beginner to understand. I’m not going to attempt to sum up either, because I don’t think I could do it justice, but if it’s something you’re curious about, I’d recommend checking out this book.

Plus, for a little added bonus, there are some guided meditation sessions, which I thought was interesting. As someone who doesn’t meditate, I didn’t know that much about guided sessions, so it was neat getting to see what it’s like from the characters’ perspectives.

Discussion about higher planes of existence.

This is a very sci-fi thing, so if you were waiting for me to touch on that … here it is! I’ve always loved very meta discussions, the sort that really make you stop and think about the world, so this was an interesting perspective to read about. People legitimately believe in the Fifth Dimension and the power of energy, and I guess I hadn’t realized that, so this was an interesting way to learn about new beliefs that people have that I wasn’t aware of.

There’s a unique, almost Stargate-esque take on aliens and religion.

If you’ve seen the show … well, any of the shows … you’ll understand this. History isn’t quite what you think it is. Conspiracy theorists, rejoice! My husband actually loves watching YouTube videos discussing conspiracy theories about ancient civilizations, especially in regards to aliens or other beings, and there were so many things I recognized in this book from that, which I thought was great. If that’s the sort of thing you’re into, this book will probably grab your attention.

There’s some really gorgeous and interesting settings to explore.

The least of which is the archaeological site, of course. There’s so much more than that, though! The great thing about these characters is they enjoy nature. Which for an introverted bookwyrm is unheard of. Leave the comfort of my house? Whaaat? The characters were constantly hiking or traveling somewhere interesting, so keeping up with them provided some lovely scenery.

It’s a book that gives you plenty to think about.

I like books that force you to think. There’s a lot going on in this, and I think a lot the readers won’t necessarily have known going in, between the archaeology and fracking and energies and different dimensions and yoga and aliens. I think there’s a lot going on, but also a lot of opportunity to maybe experience something new or from a point of view you haven’t previously, which was interesting.